Cardinals RP Trevor Rosenthal earns save Monday

(7/27/15) Cardinals pitcher Trevor Rosenthal pitched a perfect ninth inning to record his 31st save of the season during Monday's 4-1 win over the Reds. He also struck out one batter.

Rosenthal is now 31 for 33 in save chances this season.

Cardinals' Trevor Rosenthal survives shaky outing for 30th save

by Jason Lempert | Staff Writer

(7/23/15) Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal played Houdini in his outing on Thursday. Rosenthal entered the game with his team leading 4-2 over the Royals. But he allowed a single and a triple to the first two batters, cutting the lead to one run.

After allowing a walk, Rosenthal retired the next batters--including a fielder's choice play at home--to squirm out of danger and preserve the 4-3 victory. He needed 25 pitches, with 15 of them going for strikes.

Rosenthal claimed his 30th save of the year, becoming the first Cardinals pitcher to have back-to-back 30-save seasons since Jason Isringhausen ('04-'05).

It hasn't been all easy though, as Rosenthal has allowed baserunners in five of his last six outings, and has been scored upon in four of those games. He has seen his ERA rise from 0.86 to 1.75 over that stretch.

Cardinals RP Trevor Rosenthal notches save Wednesday

by Sean d'Oliveira | CBSSports.com

(7/23/15) Cardinals pitcher Trevor Rosenthal pitched a perfect ninth inning to close the door on the White Sox during Wednesday's 3-2 win. He also struck out one and received his 29th save of the season for his effort.

Cardinals' Trevor Rosenthal records 28th save on Tuesday

by Jason Lempert | Staff Writer

(7/21/15) Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal worked around a pair of hits to nail down his 28th save of the season in Tuesday's 8-5 win over the White Sox. Rosenthal struck out two batters, working a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the win.

Cardinals' Trevor Rosenthal gives up a run, gets 27th save Friday

by Jason Lempert | Staff Writer

(7/17/15) Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal battled in his outing on Friday, but was able to come away with his 27th save of the season in the 3-2 win over the Mets. The hard-throwing righty did give up a run on three hits over his inning of work, but he recorded two strikeouts to help him preserve the win.

Rosenthal, who has now given up four runs in his last three appearances, did not pitch in Tuesday's All-Star game, complaining of arm soreness. But the pain did not prevent him from pitching on Friday. However, he was forced to throw 33 pitches in the outing, which leaves his availability for Saturday's game in question.

04/11/2015 16:43Adams homers, spurs Cardinals to 4-1 win over Reds
CINCINNATI (AP) Matt Adams delivered his first home run of the season and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped the Cincinnati Reds' season-opening winning streak at four with a 4-1 win on Saturday.

04/11/2015 16:36Adams homers, spurs Cardinals to 4-1 win over Reds
CINCINNATI (AP) Matt Adams delivered his first home run of the season and the St. Louis Cardinals snapped the Cincinnati Reds' season-opening winning streak at four with a 4-1 win on Saturday.

2014 summary: After blowing everyone away as a setup man in 2013 and thriving in his audition for the closer role that postseason, Trevor Rosenthal recorded 45 saves in his first full season closing and continued to pile up strikeouts, recording 87 a year after topping 100. But some uncharacteristic wildness prevented him from joining the Craig Kimbrel/Greg Holland/Aroldis Chapman/Kenley Jansen tier as hoped and nearly cost him his job. It never really got better either. His 5.4 walks per nine innings were the eighth-most among relievers with at least 50 innings.

Playing time status: The Cardinals have a deep bullpen but are lacking closers-in-waiting, which is partly what saved Rosenthal last year. Former closer Jason Motte never posed a threat in his return from Tommy John surgery and is gone now, as is All-Star setup man Pat Neshek. So despite his struggles, Rosenthal enters 2015 with good job security.

2015 outlook: Because his strikeout rate remained high, you know the potential is there for Neshek if he can get his stuff back under control. But that's a big if. Closing for a perennial contender, he's likely to pile up saves either way, but the game has an abundance of dominant closers right now who come with far more assurances than him. He's a top-20 reliever on potential, but you'd be taking a big risk drafting him as your top closer.
(Updated 12/10/14)